CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and using your hands, press down hard to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of the mixture under the skin as well. If time permits, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes of marinating boosts the flavor).
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press rosemary sprigs, if using, into the skin side of the chicken. Put remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.
• Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and garlic; weight it with another skillet or with one or two bricks or rocks, wrapped in aluminum foil. The idea is to flatten the chicken by applying weight evenly over its surface.
• Cook over medium-high to high heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so). Serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• 1) In a small measuring cup, whisk together the oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt and pepper. Place the chicken halves in large zip lock bags and pour the marinade over. Seal and place it in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours. 2) Remove the chicken from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. 3) Place a large cast iron skillet on the stove top over medium high heat. Let that get nice and hot and smoky. 4) Take the chicken out of the marinade, pat the skin side dry. 5) Add about 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil to the hot pan, place the chicken halves in the hot skillet, skin side down. 6) Place a heavy brick (that?s been wrapped with a few layers of aluminum foil) over each half to weigh it down. 7) Turn the heat down just a bit so that it's between medium and medium high heat. 8) Cook the chicken for 25 minutes. 9) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 10) Once the chicken has had it's 25 minutes, remove the bricks, turn the halves over (so they are skin side up now) and pop them in the oven to continue to cook all the way through. 11) This should take about 20 to 25 minutes. Keep a thermometer handy so you can check to see if it's done, pierce it in the fattest part of the thigh, it should read 165 degrees. 12) Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.